the-beatles

1.

(1962 – 1970)

2.

Who Were The Beatles?
The Beatles were a very famous UK
rock band in the 1960s. They were
famous all over the world.
There were four members of the
band: John Lennon, Paul McCartney,
Ringo Starr and George Harrison.
They all came from Liverpool.
They were one of the first bands to
write their own songs and music.
Their huge fan following was known
as ‘Beatlemania’.
Liverpool

3.

John Lennon
John Winston Lennon was born on the 9th of October 1940 during the
Second World War.
His middle name was inspired by Winston Churchill, who was Prime
Minister at the time.
He played the guitar (and later on the piano) in The Beatles.
He wrote, or collaborated on, many of
the songs that the band performed,
including ‘Help!’ and ‘A Hard Day’s
Night’.
After the band split, he went on to be a
successful solo artist. ‘Imagine’ was one
of his most famous songs.

4.

John Lennon
He married Cynthia Powell in 1962 and
had a son, called Julian, in 1963. They
divorced in 1968.
He married Yoko Ono in 1969 and had a
son, called Sean, in 1975.
John spent a lot of time when he was
married to Yoko protesting against war,
especially the Vietnam War. The song
‘Give Peace a Chance’ became a song
linked to the anti-war movement of the
1970s.
He was killed in December 1980, in New
York, by an obsessed fan.

5.

Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney was born on the
18th of June 1942.
He started writing songs when he was
sixteen and wrote, or collaborated on, many
of The Beatles’ songs. Arguably, his most
famous song is ‘Yesterday’. Other songs
include, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Hey Jude’ and
‘Let It Be’.
As well as writing songs,
McCartney was bass guitarist
and one of the vocalists in The
Beatles.

6.

Paul McCartney
After The Beatles split up, McCartney formed his own band called
Wings. The band released many popular rock songs, including ‘Live and
Let Die’, which became a James Bond song for the film with the same
name.
In 1997, McCartney was knighted by The Queen for his services to music.
He married Linda Eastman in 1969 – they had several children together,
including his daughter, Stella, who became a famous fashion designer.
Fun fact:
Paul McCartney has a minor planet (planet 4148)
named after him!

7.

Ringo Starr
Born on the 7th of July 1940, Ringo Starr’s real name was Richard Starkey.
He played the drums in The Beatles and occasionally sang lead vocals. One of the
songs he is most famous for singing is ‘Yellow Submarine’.
He was not one of the original Beatles – he was in a band called Rory Storm and
the Hurricanes but quit in 1962 to join The Beatles.
When The Beatles broke up, he released his own music. His singles included, ‘It
Don't Come Easy’ and US number ones ‘Photograph’ and ‘You're Sixteen’.
Between 1984 and 1986, he was the narrator for the
first two series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
in the UK.
He was knighted in the 2018 New Year Honours List,
for his contribution to music.
He married twice and has three children, eight
grandchildren and one great-grandchild!

8.

George Harrison
George Harrison was born on the
25th of February 1943.
He was the lead guitarist of The
Beatles but he was also known for
music and film production.
Although most of the band’s songs
were written by Paul McCartney
and John Lennon, Harrison did
compose some of them, e.g. ‘While
My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and
‘Here Comes The Sun’.

9.

George Harrison
After The Beatles, he continued to work in the music industry,
releasing singles and albums as a solo performer and collaborating
with other famous musicians, including Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan.
He was asked by Ravi Shankar (a famous Indian musician), to raise
awareness about a war in Bangladesh. In 1971, he helped organise a
pair of benefit concerts, referred to as ‘The Concert for
Bangladesh’. He, together with many other musicians, performed at
these live concerts. They helped provide food for the refugees of the
war.
He died from cancer in 2001.
A year after he died, a ‘Concert for George’ was held in his memory.
All the profits went to charity.

10.

The Creation of The Beatles
In 1957, Paul McCartney and John Lennon first met and Paul joined John’s band – The
Quarrymen.
Almost a year later, George Harrison also joined John’s band.
In 1960, John’s friend Stuart Sutcliffe joined The Quarrymen. Following this, the name
of the band was changed several times. Band names included, The Beatals and the
Silver Beetles. They finally became The Beatles only eight months later and Pete Best
became their drummer.
In 1961, the band started playing gigs in Liverpool at the Cavern Club. In July that
year, Stuart Sutcliffe quit the band.
In 1962, Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best as the band’s drummer. This was the final lineup of The Beatles and they started recording their music. That year, they recorded and
released their first single ‘Love Me Do’, which reached number 17 in the charts.

11.

Fame
It was at this point that The Beatles shot to stardom. Released in January
1963, ‘Please Please Me’ became their first number one single and their
album of the same name was at the top of the charts for six months. They
released two albums in total this year, which solidified their fame in the
UK.
Soon, The Beatles became internationally famous. In 1964, when they
visited America for the first time, their first television performance was
watched by around 73 million people. Their first film, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’,
premiered in London in the summer.
In 1965, The Beatles held an outdoor
concert in New York, which broke
records due to the size of their
audience – around 55,000 people
attended!
“The Beatles in America” by United Press Internationals licensed under CC BY 2.0

12.

Films
As if being in one of the world’s most famous bands wasn’t enough, The Beatles
also made five films!
A Hard Day’s Night is about the fans and Beatlemania.
Help! is a comedy-adventure film, which shows the band trying to record a new
album, whilst protecting Ringo Starr from people who are chasing him (including
some mad scientists).
Magical Mystery Tour is a surreal adventure about the band going on a coach tour
and experiencing strange events caused by magicians.
Yellow Submarine is an animated fantasy, set in a land called Pepperland, where
The Beatles (the heroes of the story) protect the land from the Blue Meanies, who
are trying to conquer it.
Let It Be is a documentary film about the band
rehearsing their songs and playing to live
audiences.
Each of these films also had an album
released to go alongside them.

13.

Beatlemania
The band rapidly become extremely famous around the world. The press
(newspapers, radio and television) called The Beatles’ fame ‘Beatlemania’.
They became so famous that they began to travel by armoured car to
protect themselves from excited fans.
Their fame also started to cause problems in some live concerts, where the
screams of their fans were so loud that their songs couldn’t be heard over
them!
During their last few years together as a band,
the group stopped touring.

14.

Life After The Beatles
Members of the Beatles began to pursue their own interests outside of the
band and in 1970, a statement made by Paul McCartney was thought by
many to show the band had split (although the dissolution was not
formalised until the end of 1974).
Each band member went on to have great success after the Beatles.

15.

Famous Songs
Between 1962 and 1970, 214 songs were recorded by The Beatles.
They are currently the only group to have 20 songs become number one
hits in the US.
Famous songs include:
All You Need Is Love
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Yesterday
Hey Jude
With a Little Help from My Friends
Day Tripper
“The Beatles in Treslong te Hillegom” by Eric Koch / Anefois licensed under CC BY 2.0

16.

Fun Facts
Strawberry Fields, the name of a song they wrote, is a real place near to
where John Lennon grew up.
The Beatles initially struggled to get signed to a record label.
Most of their first album was recorded in one day.
At the beginning of their fame, while touring in Germany, George Harrison
was sent home because he was too young to be allowed to perform in
German nightclubs.
John Lennon was a huge Elvis Presley fan. He eventually met him while the
Beatles were touring in the US but the meeting was not as successful as
hoped.
Eric Clapton, another famous musician, played the guitar for their song,
‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’.